Underwater weapon



April 25, 1961 J WEDRALL 2,981,026

UNDERWATER WEAPON Filed Feb. 10, 1959 4 Fly. 2 4-- 42 32 40 34 Edwin JWedra/l INVENTOR.

WWW gm UNDERWATER WEAPON' Edwin J. Wedrall, 570 E. Church Hill Road, LaHabra, Calif.-

Filed Feb. 10, 1959, SenNo. 792,423 Claims. c1. 4345 The presentinvention generally relates to a weapon and more particularly to aweapon constructed for use underwater by persons such as skin divers andmay be used against underwater creatures or as a device for aiding inthe surfacing of large creatures for partially inflating such a creatureso that the same will float to the surface of the water.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an underwaterweapon in the form of astiletto of hollow construction and havingdischarge ports together with a mechanism for automatically opening apressurized cartridge when the stiletto is driven into a creature sothat the compressed air or gas in the cartridge will be discharged intothe creature.

Another object of the present invention is to provide-an underwaterweapon in accordance with the preceding object which is safe inoperation, resistant to corrosion, easy to reload, efiective inoperation and generally inexpensive to manufacture.

A further important feature of the present invention is to provide anunderwater weapon in the'form of a stiletto having a handle carrying apressurized cartridge together with a spring loaded stiletto connectedthereto and a firing pin connected to the stiletto for puncturing thecartridge upon engagement of the stiletto with an object and subsequentlongitudinal movement of the handle towards the stiletto such as wouldoccur when the stiletto was driven into an underwater creature.

A further important object of the present invention is to provide anunderwater weapon in accordance with the preceding object in which thereis a safety bar provided for preventing puncturing of the cartridgeuntil such time as the safety is moved to a predetermined position.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the underwater weapon of the presentinvention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantiallyupon a plane passing along the longitudinal center of the weapon andillustrating the normal condition of the device and with the safety in aposition for preventing puncturing of the cartridge;

Figure 3 is a sectional view similar to Figure 2 but illustrating thesafety moved to its other position and with the stiletto partially movedinto the handle for puncturing the cartridge; 7

Figure 4 is a transverse, sectional view taken substantially upon aplane passing along section line 44 of Figure 2 illustrating the detailsof construction of the firing pin and the orientation'of the spring inrelation thereto; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the firing pin.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral States PatentPatented Apr. 25, I961.

10 generally designates the underwater weapon of the present inventionwhich broadly includes a handle portion generally designated by thenumeral 12 and a stiletto generally designated by the numeral 14. Thestiletto 14 is in the form of an elongated tapered member 16 having asharpened solid tip 18 at the outer end thereof and provided with alongitudinally extending bore 20 communieating with the inner end andterminating in spaced relation to the pointed tip end 18. The portion ofthe bore 20 disposed nearer the outer end is of smaller diameter and isdesignated by the numeral 22 thereby assuring rigidity to the stilletto14 and this area of the stiletto 14 is provided with a plurality oflongitudinally staggered notches 24 each of which is in the form of atransverse notch inclined inwardly and towards the tip end 18 and whichactually form barbs 26 so that when the stiletto 14 is inserted into anunderwater creature, the same will be retained therein by the barbs 26.The staggered orientation of the notches 24 is such that the stiletto 14will not be unduly weakened. Further, the reduction in the diameter ofthe bore in the stiletto 14 assures sufiicient wall thickness throughoutthe length of the stiletto for maintaining rigidity. The notches 24 maybe formed by any suitable procedure such as a transverse filing orgrinding operation whereby the bottom edge of the notch defined by theconverging walls will actually extend around a periphery of the bore 22.

The other end of the tapered member 16 is provided witha peripheraloutwardly extending flange 28 and also a counterbore 30 disposed in theend thereof.

The handle 12 includes three separate sections including a centralcylindrical member 32, an end cap 34 and a cap 36 for connecting thestiletto 14 to the handle 12. The central portion 32 is provided with alongitudinal bore 38 receiving acartridge 4,0 of compressed air or gaswith. the neck thereof extending towards the cap 36 and being inalignment with an opening 42 in the central member 32 which openingcommunicates with the recessed end 44 disposed in axial alignment withthe recess 30. The central member 32 is provided with an internallythreaded flange 46 and the cap 36 is provided with an externallythreaded flange 48 for mounting the' cap 36 in position. Also, the cap36 is provided with an inwardly extending peripheral flange 50 slidablyreceiving the portion of the tapered member 16 adjacent the flange 28which is actually cylindrical in configuration.

A compression coil spring 52 is disposed between the bottom of therecess 44 and the bottom of the recess 30 for holding the stilettolongitudinally outwardly of the handle 12. Mounted between the end ofthe spring 52 and the bottom of the recess 30 is a firing pin generallydesignated by the numeral 54 and including a circular plate 56 of a sizefor reception within the recess 30 with the plate 56 having an upwardlystruck triangular shaped lug 58 therein which leaves a triangular shapedopening 60 in the plate 56. The pointed end of the lug 58 faces theopening 42 for contact with the closed end of the cartridge 40 foropening the same when the pointed end 58 is inserted therethrough. Theopening 60 is in alignment with the bore 22 and also in alignment withthe bore 42 for permitting passage of compressed air or gas into thestiletto for discharge from the notches.

The central member 32 is provided with a transverse passageway 62slidably receiving a safety bar 64 having a handle or finger pad 66 ateach end thereof. The bar 62 is provided with an opening 68 forselective alignment with the opening 42. The central member 32 isprovided with diametrically opposed recesses 70 for receiving theenlarged end or finger pads or abutments 66 for limiting the movement ofthe safety bar 64. In one position, the safety bar 64 provides a closurefor the bore 42 and pre 3 vents contact with the cartridge 40. When thesafety bar is moved to its other position, the bore 42 is opened and thepointed projection or lug 58 of the firing pin 54 may open the cartridge40 when the stiletto is moved towards the handle or the handle is movedtowards the stiletto.

The closure cap 34 is secured to the central section by a screw threadedconnection and is also provided with a recess 72 for receiving the outerend of a cartridge 40 whereby removal of the cap 34 will permit removaland replacement of the cartridge 40. A beaded chain 74 is attached tothe cap 34 and has the other end thereof anchored to an anchoring screw76 in the central body section 32 to prevent loss of the cap 34.

The cartridge may be conventional CO cartridges and the device may beconveniently carried in a scabbard constructed of soft plastic with ametal tip which may be worn on the waistbelt of a skin diver to precludeentanglement and the weapon may be easily reloaded in a quick and simplemanner for use, and the device may be used as an underwater weaponagainst underwater creatures and as a device for helping to float such acreature to the surface.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An underwater hand weapon comprising a handle with a roughened outersurface, a longitudinally extending pointed stiletto extendingtherefrom, means mounting the stiletto on the handle for longitudinalmovement of the stiletto, resilient means urging the stiletto outwardlyof the handle, a cartridge of compressed gas in said handle, and meanson said stiletto for opening said cartridge upon movement of thestiletto towards the handle,

said stiletto including passage means for discharging the compressed gasinto the interior of an underwater creature when the stiletto isinserted therein.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein a transversely slidingsafety bar is provided in said handle for selectively precluding openingof the cartridge by the puncturing means carried by the stiletto.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said passage meansincludes a longitudinal bore and a plurality of notches communicatingwith the bore.

4. An underwater weapon comprising a hollow sectional handle, areplaceable cartridge of pressurized fluid having a rupturable end,means detachably interconnecting the sections of the handle forpermitting replacement of the cartridge, a longitudinally extendingtapered movable member longitudinally mounted on said handle, resilientmeans urging the movable member away from the handle, said taperedmember terminating in an outer pointed end, and means movably mounted onthe handle and engageable by the movable member for movement therebywhen the movable member moves inwardly in response to force exerted whenthe pointed end is forced into an underwater creature, said meansincluding a puncture element for rupturing the end of the cartridge,said movable member including passage means communicating the exteriorsurface of the movable member with the rupturable end of the cartridgefor inflating the animal.

5. An inflating device comprising a hollow sectional handle, areplaceable cartridge of pressurized fluid having a rupturable end,means detachably interconnecting the sections of the handles forpermitting replacement of the cartridge, a longitudinally extendingtapered movable member longitudinally mounted on said handle, resilientmeans urging the movable member away from the handle, said taperedmember terminating in an outer pointed end, and means movably mounted onthe handle and engageable by the movable member for movement therebywhen the movable member moves inwardly in response to force exerted whenthe pointed end is forced into an article to be inflated, said meansincluding a puncture element for rupturing the end of the cartridge,said movable member including passage means communicating the exteriorsurface of the movable member with the rupturable end of the cartridgefor inflating the article, said handle including means movably mountedthereon for selectively blocking the movement of the puncture elementtowards the cartridge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,617,359 Van Horn et al Nov. 11, 1952 2,708,860 Arpin May 24, 19552,780,389 Sandgren Feb. 5, 1957 2,936,756 Gabriel May 17, 1960 FOREIGNPATENTS 165,478 Great Britain June 30, 1921

